This is Happiness: II
by Wintreaux
Summary: Sequel to This is Happiness: I. You'll need to read that in order for this to make sense. - Sheldon/Penny -
1. I

**Sequel to This is Happiness. You'll have to read that first to have this make sense.**

* * *

**I.**

* * *

_This is what a normal evening looks like:_

She unlocks her door rather clumsily.

She's tired, she's always tired after a long day of shooting. Her role has become bigger than it was in season one, and it required her to expend more energy then she had. She wasn't complaining though, this was the life she always wanted, the career she's always wanted. She's picked up a new show, something sci-fi. She would have her agent send her the pitch of the show later, right now she just wanted to take a long hot bath and relax in her New York home.

She glanced at her fiancé, sat on their leather black sofa, headset on as he played his video games. If she was a betting woman, she'd assume it was Leonard, Howard, and Raj on the other end of that headset. She loved that about their friendship, despite distance –Leonard and Raj still in Pasadena, but Howard and Sheldon elsewhere, they all still kept in contact.

"Hey."

Sheldon gave a quick glance over his shoulder and turned back to the television set, speaking into his headset he paused his game, "Leonard, I have to go. More important matters have come up," he said firmly. Penny could hear the whining through the speaker and winced, that was one thing she absolutely didn't miss about the shorter man.

"Yes, well I'm sure once you decide to engage Amy Farrah Fowler, you'll understand the importance of keeping your woman happy, goodbye Leonard," he said simply before hanging up the headset and turning fully to his fiancée.

He loved that word, fiancée.

"How was your day?"

She shrugged as she loosened her ponytail and walked towards their bathroom, "Tiring."

He was behind her as she stood in the bathroom, looking into the mirror, "Things that wouldn't have exhausted me a few months ago are making me winded today."

Sheldon wouldn't tell her the statistics about old age. Instead he just kissed the spot below her ear (he knew she liked it) and ran her a hot bath.

* * *

_This is what happens when you get sick:_

"And action!"

She jumped slightly, her directors loud voice shaking her out of her thoughts. She blinked rapidly and tried to focus on what her co-stars were saying, but everything seemed to be mumbled together. All she could hear was the loud ringing in her ears. She stood on her mark, and opened her mouth to say her line, "I would never…" she trailed off, she couldn't remember her next line.

She saw the looks on her co-stars faces and felt embarrassed; she usually never forgot a line. Always excited to even get one. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at her director off set, "Uh, line?"

He sighed deeply and looked at the script in his hand, "I would never betray you like that, Nicholas. But maybe if you don't know that, then your father was right; you don't know me."

She nodded her head and gestured for them to start again.

"And action!"

She took her mark once more and listened for her cue. But the lights started to get brighter, and suddenly she could barely see. She squinted and pulled at the collar of her costume, why was it so hot in here?

"Penny!"

She looked to her co-star who had called her name, Rebecca, she was looking at Penny as if she had two heads and everyone else pretty much had the same look, "What's going on? Are you ok?"

The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly felt extremely ill and ran to the closest bathroom.

She sat there, kneeling on the cold linoleum ground, dry heaving into the ceramic bowl and she had no idea why. Maybe she was nervous because her family was coming to visit in a few weeks, and it would be the first time they met Sheldon as her fiancé, officially. Maybe it was because she would be attending her first Golden Globes award ceremony, and she was nominated for quite a few categories.

All reasons that made sense, but she hated the fact it was taking her away from work.

There was a knock on the door, and Penny forced herself to sit up and wash out her mouth the best she could. She didn't realize she was crying until she looked in the mirror. "You ok, girl?"

It was Rebecca.

"Yeah, I guess…just nerves."

Penny saw the look on the red-heads face, she knew that look. She wore it a lot when she was dating Leonard, it said _I-don't-believe-a-word-you're-saying-but-I-won't-question-you-further_. She sighed deeply and explained, "I think I'm just nervous about my parents coming to the city, they haven't officially met my fiancé yet."

Rebecca nodded her head, "Well, if that's the reason I think it's something you can get over," she stated simply, "We need you out there. Your fiancé is great, your parents will love him just as much as you do."

Penny could hear the _but_ and she didn't need to look at her co-star to know what she meant by that. She wanted to shake her head and tell her she was wrong, there was nothing to even check because she and Sheldon were _safe_.

She didn't understand how she ended up at the drugstore shortly after that.

* * *

_This is what happens when your family comes to visit:_

"Oh wow, this is so fancy Penny," Wyatt is the first to speak as the entire family take in the modern home. It was in the heart of New York and it was rather pricey, but between she and Sheldon it wasn't hard to afford at all.

Just saying that made her swell with pride, who would've thought the day would come when she could not only afford her rent back in Pasadena, but she could also afford the bills on an upper Manhattan home. So, she showed her family around and though she insisted on them staying with her they told her they'd feel more comfortable at a hotel rather than imposing on the couple.

Sheldon came home in the evening right before dinner, so it gave her time to catch up with her family and answer all the embarrassing questions without him.

"That was such a nice dinner, Penny, thank you," Suzanne smiled.

The entire family had migrated to the living room, sitting around the sofas. A football game was on that preoccupied Wyatt and Randall, until her mother spoke first.

"So, when do you plan on getting married officially? You guys have been engaged for a little over a year, right?"

Sheldon shifted, and Penny knew it was due to the awkward question, she placed a hand on his knee but before she could speak, he did, "Well, right now we're taking things slowly—"

"Well, how much slower can you go? It took you guys years to get together, and when you finally do you want to take even longer to get married? I'd like to have grandchildren before I'm bound to a wheelchair," Suzanne didn't realize she was stepping on toes.

He sat up straighter, "Yes, however I'm busy teaching at NYU and Penny's actressing career had only just taken off. Between the two, we barely have time to plan a wedding. Besides we're enjoying just being together for as long as possible. Children aren't on our radar as of yet but believe me when I say I do plan to have offspring; I would be denying the world of a prodigy if I didn't."

She's looking at him, _really_ looking at him. And it's like for the first time since they been engaged, she realizes he might be avoiding marriage to her. It sounded like he thought she was content being engaged and no further commitment needed to be made, and suddenly she felt angry. Did he not want to marry her?

He noticed.

Her family went home a week later, all topics of marriage and children off the conversational list and in everyone's back pockets. Well, everyone except Suzanne who hounded Penny every second she got alone with her daughter. She knew she shouldn't be, but she was extremely grateful when her family boarded their plane and never turned back. Despite the issue happening a few days ago, she was still angry with Sheldon.

* * *

_This is what happens when your fiancé has Vulcan hearing:_

"You're mad at me."

She's laying on her back on their couch, a plate of nachos on her stomach and reruns of some reality television show playing. She's not even watching it at this point, it's just background noise. She started off by trying to run over her lines for her new show, but somewhere in the middle she got so frustrated with her fiancé she forgot about it and made herself nachos. She thought it would make things better, but it didn't. It only fueled her anger more.

She glanced at him, "No."

He picked up her feet and placed them on his lap, as he sat beneath them. Immediately, she sat up straight. She didn't feel like being touched by him at the moment.

He's looking at her, _really_ looking at her. And she's avoiding his blue stare. He knew the power they had on her, and she refused to be a victim again. So, she stood to her feet to refill her nachos. They didn't need refilling.

"Why do you still lie to me?"

It was a simple question, but it kind of broke her heart and she felt like crying. She closed her eyes and looked up at their high ceiling. She remembered telling Sheldon this was the house for them, simply because of the ceiling. She loved how elegant it looked, and especially the echo it made when your voice was loud enough. The first time they had sex in the living room, it was like sitting on the balcony of an Opera.

"Why don't you want to marry me?" Her voice cracks and she hates herself for it.

He's narrowing his eyes as he stands, "Who said that? There's nothing I want more than to marry you, Penny."

She dodges his touch before he could even think about doing it, and it scares him how much she knows him, but it warms him too.

"Why are you always the one to say we're too busy to plan a wedding, what if that's not what I want anymore? What if I want to get married?"

Placing his hands on the counter top (because they really needed to touch _something_) he says, "Then we get married. We get married whenever you want to."

She scoffs, because of course that's what he'd say. Of course, that's what he'd think she wants to hear, "No. I want to get married when we both want." She looks him in the eye, finally, and says, "You don't want kids either?"

"I do. I told your mother I did. Just not right now, it's not ideal. I'd prefer to have one in the future."

Her voice is soft, and he swears he could barely hear it (but he does, Vulcan hearing and all that), "What if it's too late?"

* * *

_This is how she expected it to go (but it doesn't):_

She opens their door with a large smile on her face. He sees her and asks her why she's so happy and she pulls a onesie out from behind her back. It reads 'daddy's my hero'. He asks her if she's serious. She nods. He smiles. They kiss. He's happy, she's happy, they're happy. He picks her up and hugs her, spinning around. And she can't see because she's crying. She was nervous for nothing, because this is what he wants, this is what they _both_ want.

She gives birth, a little boy. Blonde hair, green eyes. He's gorgeous.

They whisper how much they each love him, and how they're not perfect but they swear on everything they will try to be.

They stay true to their promise, and they live happily ever after.

Curtain falls.

* * *

Penny's crying, and she's choking on her sobs. It hurts so much, and nobody is there to console her because after she told him she was pregnant,

He left.


	2. II

**II.**

* * *

_This is defeat:_

The last thing he thought would happen was Howard becoming something of a confidant.

Ever since he and Bernadette moved to New York, following Penny and Sheldon, the two couples found solace in confiding in each other. Without Leonard and Raj in the middle, Sheldon found he actually enjoyed the conversations he and the engineer had. No, he didn't have a PhD or any type of doctorate, but he was wise in ways Sheldon was less than thrilled to admit, he wasn't.

So, he found it only logical that he sat in the living room of the Wolowitz's, a few hours after Penny admitted she was pregnant.

He hadn't meant to run, but it was the only response he knew how to do. A baby? Him? Penny? Were they even ready? He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared, and that in itself scared him because he knew everything there was to know and this was one thing he didn't. But now that he was away from his fiancée and their unborn child, he found it easier to think. He wasn't crowded by his emotions for her, he could think logically.

Bernadette had hit him over his head when he confessed to what he did. Of course, she'd be on Penny's side. She then kissed Howard and their child goodbye and informed the men she was going to check up on Penny, it had been a few hours since then.

"Wow, it looks like we're all going to be dads then," was all Howard offered.

He shot him a glance, "Is Raj expecting too?"

Howard only nodded.

"Fabulous," it was sarcastic, "Maybe we could all join a daddy daycare."

The shorter man couldn't help but smirk at his friend's sarcasm. He had come so far from the days of naiveté and ignorance, now sat a man who was going to be married soon, and a father sooner than that. He put a hand on the scientists back, "You know, if you told me five years ago that it would be you that ended up with Penny and not Leonard, I would've laughed so hard I would get a hernia…" he trailed off as he thought about it, "Probably would've told Leonard that you were planning to make moves on Penny too," he admitted ashamedly.

Howard wasn't proud of his past. Just before moving to New York, when Amy and Leonard were well involved with each other, he reflected on his friends and his involvement in a lot of the downfall that came upon Sheldon. Most of it was at the beck and call of Leonard, he was like a puppet master and Raj and he were the lonely minions who felt like they didn't have a choice in the matter because they were anti-social and would never do any better than Leonard. Leonard wasn't a bad guy, he was selfish and manipulative, yes. Maybe even whiny too. But, underneath his layers of insecurities he was a great guy. For that he couldn't lose his friendship, but instead just distanced himself from the man. He didn't like who he became when he was with him.

"Well that doesn't seem to be accurate anymore, I believe I messed up again, Howard."

"How?"

He held up a keyring hanging off his finger, a few keys click-clacking together, "I ran away again."

That was another thing Howard couldn't believe, Sheldon was driving now.

"Then you go back, and you fix this. You ran because you were scared, you were surprised. That's completely understandable, but what's not right was you leaving her in the state she's in. Explain to her how you feel and hold her all night. Fix it," Howard offered helpfully.

Before Sheldon could reply, his phone rang.

"That's odd," he stated looking at the screen, "It's Bernadette."

* * *

_This is what moving backwards feels like:_

"Bestie?"

Her face was tear stained, and her hair was a mess, but she tried her best to put on a smile for her friend.

It hurt like hell standing in the hall of the apartment complex she once called home, knocking on the door she once was able to just walk right through. It was the only place she knew she could go to without having to get into too much of an explanation. He had _left_ her, and she was done chasing him. No more games. If he wasn't ready to commit to her then she'd leave and become a single mother. Except she wouldn't be a completely single mother, she'd have the support of all her friends.

The next morning when she woke up, in the guest room, which was painfully her fiancés old room, she forced herself to not look around. She was met with too many memories. Soft Kitty. Vicks Vapor Rub. Dolls – no Action Figures. _Nobody is allowed in my room Penny!_ (Yeah, well now she's sharing a bed with him every night, so…who's the loser now, Sheldon).

She exits the room in a rush, bleary eyed as she moves towards the kitchen.

"So…"

She looks at him, it's the first time she's alone with him since they officially broke up even though they weren't really together. But there was this lingering energy, and it was weird and awkward, and everybody just _knew_ there was something unresolved between them. But then Sheldon, and now she's on her way to becoming _Mrs. Sheldon Cooper_, and wasn't it the least she could do to tell him privately?

"Leonard…"

He just raises a mug towards her, and she accepts it thankfully. "It's been a while since you been within these walls, huh?"

And she thinks he's trying to be nice, but she could hear the bitterness in his voice and she wonders if he's not completely over her and she suddenly regrets getting on the airplane because she's not trying to complicate things further, she just needed a friend and the only one she could think of was Amy. Her fiancés ex-girlfriend. Geez, did they all just rotate each other around?

"Yeah."

"So, relationship problems?"

Was that a spark in his eye?

"Something like that."

At this point it was impossible to deny the smirk on his face as he looked into his mug of black liquid, "I always thought you guys would make the long haul, you know opposites attract and all of that." She frowned deeply, seriously Leonard?

"And we will. It's just a rough patch, something we'll make it through," she hoped.

He shrugged and walked around the island towards her, "I hope so. I'd be devastated if everyone was in their own world and relationship and you and Sheldon were falling apart before our eyes." If she didn't know him, she'd think he was being genuine, but…she knew him.

She bit back, "How's your son? The one you had with Amy. What was his name again?"

Leonard rubbed his eyes tiredly, "Wesley," he answered slowly. She only nodded, understanding it was based off the Star-Trek character. "Ah, Wesley, where is he?"

"Amy sent him off to her mother's, she plans to hang out with you all day or something," his tone changed, and she could finally breathe. She didn't want to be doing this with him right now anyways, she had more pressing matters to think of other than her bitter ex.

There was a silence between the both of them, and she didn't know how to fill it. He was right, this was the first time in a very long time she's been here, and she came back on terrible circumstances. She didn't feel completely comfortable in here like she used to, especially with Leonard staring at her the way he was. The furniture was either rearranged or gone, and it hurt her seeing the couch being replaced. She couldn't help but think _how dare they_, but then it was his apartment now and she and Sheldon did live across the country. So _how dare she_.

"Do you think that maybe we-"

She rolled her head, "Leonard," she groaned, she didn't want to do this now.

"I'm just asking, Penny. Don't you think it's the least I deserve, after everything?"

Was he really pulling the guilt card? She told him so many times how sorry she was, but ultimately, she owed him nothing, they weren't an item. They were both single, and it wasn't her fault that he decided to not do anything about it. So, why did she feel bad?

"Do you think despite me having Wesley, and you being engaged, that there could ever be something between us again?" He was hesitant at first, but slowly grew more confident, "It's just, every time I look at you, I get those feelings again and I think you know it too. Even if we had a bad relationship, I think we'll always have this indescribable connection."

She shook her head, "I can describe it. Friendship."

He narrowed his eyes, "Penny…" he moved to touch her _left_ hand and she immediately pulled away before he could grab her. He glared but before he could say anything she did, "I'm pregnant, Leonard."

He dropped his arm immediately, "Pregnant?"

She nodded firmly; she wasn't here to be hit on by him. She was here for clarity and possibly comfort from Amy, "Yes. And Sheldon is the father, before you ask," she glared at him. He was shocked.

Of all the time the passed by within the group, he never believed she and Sheldon would make it. They were an odd couple and they'd surely bite each other's head off before they move in together. But then they moved to New York, well, Sheldon moved for Penny and it was the most dramatic and spontaneous thing he had ever seen his roommate do. He began to worry after that. Maybe he wouldn't be getting Penny back?

But then in his sorrow and pain, he and Amy began speaking and eventually speaking turned to more. Amy was tired of not having her desires and needs met, and Leonard was just desperate. They had sex. Multiple times. And through their careless actions Amy got pregnant with his first child. Amy was a lot more excited than he was, and she had already told her family. Leonard felt stuck.

But then Sheldon and Penny visited, and he saw them interact, long gone was his roommate who needed a special pair of pants to just ride the bus. Instead stood a man who had a woman he loved and would do anything to keep her by his side. It made him sick. He was glad when during their visit they had an argument, it was small, but it was enough to show Leonard that it wasn't all good between them. Maybe he still did stand a chance.

They went back to New York, and he hadn't seen them again. Until he woke up this morning and saw Penny.

"You…and Sheldon?"

Penny narrowed her eyes, "What? Did you think Sheldon and I wouldn't have sex?"

Before he could answer, Amy came bursting into the apartment.

"Bestie, Wes is at my moms, so we have all day together. Tell me everything!"

* * *

_This won't be cliché:_

Sheldon buys a ticket to Pasadena. He shows up at his old apartment, begging Leonard to tell him where his fiancée is. _Tell me now, Leonard!_ She's out with Amy, a park. Sheldon buys flowers, balloons, chocolates, everything. He hails a cab, no that would take too long, he gets an Uber. He gets to the park; he finds the familiar head of blonde hair. He could always spot her out in a sea of blondes. He finds her. She's shocked –he knew she would be. Amy is smiling. Penny is crying. He's on his knees, he loves her, he's begging, he's apologizing. He was stupid. He was careless. He was an idiot. Please baby, please! They're kissing.

She forgives him. She loves him. They go home.

Curtain falls.

* * *

Sheldon does call Penny though; she lets it ring.

Not long after he receives a text from her, it reads:

'I'll be ok if I never see you again.'


	3. III

**III.  
**

* * *

_This is sometime in the future:_

"Bestie, not that I don't love having you around…but don't you think it's time for you to go home?"

She's exhausted, and the light shining in from the window is burning her eyes. Amy had come into the (her) room (his room), with a frown on her face. She hated being sympathized for, she wasn't a charity case. So, she mustered up all her pride and pulled the covers back, her stomach was rounded out –not completely, but still noticeable. She would be three months now. She left Sheldon when she was just a month and a half.

_Sheldon_, it broke her heart even thinking about his name.

"Don't worry, I'm going to find my own place and be out of your hair soon," her voice was coarse partly from sobbing all the time, and never really speaking, "I get it, you don't want your friend who's also your baby daddy's ex living with you. It's a girl thing, _despite_ being friends. And _despite_ the fact you and I are on the _exact_ same boat. You know, with both of us going behind the other's back with our exes and getting knocked up," Her voice sounded bitter, and she hated herself for it because Amy had been nothing but accommodating for the last month and a half, she had no right to be upset.

The brunette bristled, "That's not true at all. I don't mind if you stay with us permanently, it's just I think it would be better for you if you either went home or started to get back on your feet." She argued, "I see on TMZ they're running rampant with stories, make believe stories, they've even got Sheldon ambushed at NYU one time. He looked devastated and confused. You either need to handle this or call your manager, I don't know how it goes in the Hollywood world!"

She knew her friend was right.

"Well, Sheldon didn't come look for me so he must be fine. Why should I be the one to come see him and rescue him when he didn't care to go do the same? He clearly made up his mind, he doesn't want me or his unborn child. I'm not gonna put myself on the line for a guy who couldn't put down his books for a weekend or even a day, to come see me."

Amy frowned deeply, "He's called everyone nearly every day asking about you, Penny."

It makes her head hurt, why hadn't she known this? "Well he hasn't called _me_."

"Because he knows you, we _all_ know you. You're stubborn."

She goes to argue, but Amy cuts her off, "Would you have answered?"

She closes her mouth.

"Exactly. He's called Howard, Raj, Bernie, Leonard, me, and even your parents. He doesn't know where you are," she tells her friend with a sad look on her face, "And he's worried. He's so worried about you and your child. He says he can barely sleep knowing you're out there somewhere and he has no idea where to look. Nobody besides Leonard and I know where you are, and I obviously will hold your secret to my heart and I've leveraged sex for Leonard to do the same, but I'm starting to rethink this choice."

"You can't make my decisions for me, Amy!"

Amy moved to walk about but then looked back at the crying blonde in her apartment, "No? So, when are you gonna start making them for yourself? You have a man who loves you so much," she hesitates, "We both know Sheldon, and you for longer than me, when does he ever show this much emotion and vulnerability? You've got him doing things he has never done before. Yes, he made the stupid mistake of running out on you, but he came back Penny…_he came back_."

She watched Amy leave and apart of her heart broke, she couldn't help but feel like Amy still had these harbored feelings for Sheldon, or this hate towards her. She got Sheldon to love her and commit to her without a contract or tactfulness. All she had to do was smile at Sheldon, and he would hang the moon for her. It made her feel worse, knowing she had left him to his own devices. She did the same thing she got angry at him for doing.

She hears Amy say goodbye to Leonard as she leaves for work, Wesley taking a nap, so she's confused when she hears Leonard knocking on the door and walking in. She stares at him from the bed, and he stares at her from the foot of it. He speaks first.

"So, you're really pregnant, huh?" He gestured to her stomach that's poking out. She glares at him and then hastily covers her stomach. Leonard had been nothing but a creep since she was here, and she would've left sooner if she had somewhere to actually go. Ever since she came back, all he kept doing was trying to sleep with her or ask if there was a chance they can get back together.

He walked a bit closer, "Do you remember when you were dating Kurt? You were different, I don't think you ever cheated on one of your boyfriends, but I know back then is when you were the most capable of doing it," he told her in a matter-of-fact tone, and she didn't know where he was going with this so she stayed silent but alert.

"I wish you were the same you back then, not the Hollywood star Penny, or the smarter Penny, or Sheldon's Penny," he gritted out the last one, "I know we've all changed, but damn I wish you didn't. You were so much easier to please back then."

Her mouth hung open at his words, "What the hell Leonard?"

He looked her in the eye, "The point is, if you're not going to let me have sex with you, then you have to leave my apartment. You can't stay here rent free," he told her seriously. He wasn't shocked when Penny slapped him in the face. He did shock her though, when he gripped her wrist a little to forcefully, "So I take it that's a no, you have until the end of the day to get out. I know you're getting paid enough to make last minute choices, so don't make me find you here when I get back from work." With one last squeeze he was gone.

She just sat there crying, when did her life come to this?

* * *

_This is realization:_

She's going home, to New York. To Sheldon.

Amy was right, there were things she and Sheldon had to work through if they were ever going to give their unborn child a chance at happiness. She refused to let her child grow up in a broken home, she knew what that was like. No, her parents weren't divorced, but they might as well be. They were both unhappy, and both turned to their own substances to drown out their own sorrows. At this point she only believed they stayed together because it was cheaper than getting a divorce. Not really the best foundation for a marriage.

Meanwhile, she knew Sheldon also knew what it was like to be in a broken home. His parents had a turbulent relationship. His mother was a devote Christian and his father was the exact definition of an alcoholic. If George Sr. hadn't died so many years ago, she had no idea what kind of man Sheldon would turn out to be today.

She didn't want the same thing for her child.

She wanted to give her child the life she didn't have.

So, she's coming off the plane, and she's collecting her luggage, and the New York bustle of the streets greet her. Sheldon doesn't know she's coming home, and she rather he be surprised by her arrival opposed to giving him time to prepare. Something inside of her just wants to _catch him_ in the act of _anything_.

She opens the door to their house and is immediately hit with the scent of pine and bleach, he had been cleaning. It immediately tears at her heart strings because he was always a clean person, but he only ever went into a cleaning frenzy when he was absolutely bothered over something. All around their living room are whiteboards and papers, equations fill each surface and she can't read it, but she knows it's important. Everything he does is important.

"Sheldon?"

She doesn't get a reply, and she starts to wonder if he's even home. But then she hears the creaking of the front door and it opens, he's standing there. He looks taller, and his eyes look duller, and his chin is littered with stubble, and she starts to cry because she has been so selfish. All this time she was focusing on herself, and what pain she had gone through and what he has done to _her_. She hadn't stopped to think what she was doing to _him_.

Yes, maybe he did deserve to be left alone for a week or so, because _honestly how dare he walk out on her_. But a month and a half was far too long, she had robbed him of that part of her pregnancy development.

She doesn't get to think much longer because he has crossed the floor in two long strides, and he's grabbing onto her for dare life. He's crying, he's honest to god _crying_ in her hair. Apologizing for everything, he was so stupid to walk out on her. He was so stupid to not chase after her when he realized she had left. _Please don't leave me again_.

She pulls away and looks up at him, his disheveled appearance alarming to her, but still she had things she needed to say.

"You left me, Sheldon."

He looks away, ashamed.

"I never walked out on you. You left me first, and I waited for hours for you to come back but you didn't," she explained to him slowly, "I texted you and you ignored me. I am pregnant, and your fiancée and you left me on my own, I need you to understand how that made me feel."

He looks at his feet and then at her, her green eyes fresh with tears, "I am so sorry, Penny. I know I have an issue with running, I know I'm a flight-risk, and it's only because I get scared. Every time something big happens, I get scared because all of these scenarios go through my mind of the many ways, I can lose you and I can't bare it. I can't bear the thought of losing you again, not like last time back in Pasadena."

She steps away from him slightly once she sees him come closer, "Running away will make you lose me, Sheldon. You can't do that anymore. You're a grown man, and you're going to be a father. I know you've improved on your habits from years ago, but it's about time you drop them all together. You need to start setting a good example for your child, and that starts with taking responsibility for the things you cause."

"I just didn't think we'd end up have children so soon," he admits.

Her face kind of darkens, and he wonders if he said something wrong, "Newsflash, _Mr. Science-Guy_," she knows he hates it when she calls him that, "People are more inclined to have kids and get pregnant when they sleep together, and you and I tend to have _a lot_ of sex."

Sheldon just looks at her, he knows how the anatomy and reproduction works.

"Like I said, it's time to grow up. You could've messaged me any time since I been gone, and you didn't."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Yes I did. I called you, and you let it go to voicemail and then you texted me saying you'd be ok if you never saw me again," it hurt him all over again as he reached into his pocket and showed her the offending message.

Her eyes widened in shock, that was her number, but it wasn't her who typed that. She had to think hard about what she was doing that day so long ago, and why a message like that was sent from her phone. It was like it all clicked as she reached for the device.

Sheldon gripped just below her wrist and his face darkened, he examined her wrist and she silently cursed, "What's this? _Who_ did this?"

She pulled her wrist back and out of his steel grip, "It was an accident."

"Aren't we talking about growing up and no more running away from problems?"

She sighed deeply, "It was Leonard," she hurried as she saw the anger flash on his face, "It was an accident…I'd like to say. He's not completely over me, and he made some passes at me while I was staying with, he and Amy, he propositioned me basically. Told me to sleep with him or get out." She never realized the intensity of the situation until she spoke about it, "I said no, obviously, and he got mad and grabbed my arm. I didn't realize it bruised."

She never really witnessed _angryprotective!sheldon _and as she watched him sidestep her and go to his laptop, she was curious to know what he was doing. He hesitated for a moment before turning to her and holding her arms, keeping her eye contact.

"I love you so much, Penny. I swear I never knew what love was, I never knew it was possible until you came into my life. And knowing you're carrying my child; it only intensifies my love for you. Not only that, my protectiveness. Like you said, it's time for me to grow up and with that entails protecting what's mine, and you and our future child are mine," his speech brings tears to her eyes and she nods. For the first time in what feels like eternity, he kisses her so passionately she doesn't know what to do with herself.

* * *

_This is happiness, again:_

Leonard gets fired.

Sheldon had no tolerance for abuse since he came from an abusive household himself. However, his tolerance was even lower when it came to others harmfully touching his wife. Yes, _wife_. They agreed to get married in a small ceremony two months after she came back to New York, it was everything either of them ever wanted.

He knew his status held power over Leonard, but he needed _more_ than that. He emailed Gablehauser and exposed Leonard for what he did in the Arctic. He had written apologies and admittance from Raj and Howard already, so all he had to do with attach those with his email and the proof was in the pudding. Leonard was fired not even two days later. He made it known that it was him who was the culprit behind this. Understandably, Leonard was angry, he had a son to feed.

Sheldon didn't care.

His last words to Leonard was to never come around his family again, and never place his hands on his wife again.

Penny gives birth, it's a girl.

Brown curly hair, big green eyes. She's the perfect mix of both of her parents, and they both feel their hearts melting when Rowan Aurora Cooper smiles for the first time.

As the years go by, neither Sheldon nor Penny could believe the arguments they faced and the time they wasted being stubborn. It all seemed so trivial now that they were finally at peace. They were happy, and their lives were complete. This was all that mattered.


End file.
